Flexible, but not enough: How an omnivorous ant copes with macronutrient imbalances

Omnivores may have high flexibility in adjusting their ingestion rates and degree of food selectivity to regulate the nutrient uptake and maintain homeostasis. However, if resources are limited, their ability to regulate the nutrient balance may be constrained, affecting their performance and ecolog...

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Autores principales:	Alma, Andrea Marina, Lescano, María Natalia, Pirk, Gabriela I., Elizade, Luciana
Formato:	conjunto de datos other acceptedVersion
Lenguaje:	Inglés
Publicado:	Wiley 2025
Materias:	C:N ratio Behavioral mechanisms Diet Dorymyrmex tener Interspecific aggression Nutrient imbalance Data Ciencias de la Tierra y Medio Ambiente
Acceso en línea:	https://rdi.uncoma.edu.ar/handle/uncomaid/18897
Aporte de:	Repositorio Institucional UNCo de Universidad Nacional del Comahue

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spelling	I22-R178-uncomaid-188972025-08-04T16:43:43Z Flexible, but not enough: How an omnivorous ant copes with macronutrient imbalances Alma, Andrea Marina Lescano, María Natalia Pirk, Gabriela I. Elizade, Luciana C:N ratio Behavioral mechanisms Diet Dorymyrmex tener Interspecific aggression Nutrient imbalance Data Ciencias de la Tierra y Medio Ambiente Omnivores may have high flexibility in adjusting their ingestion rates and degree of food selectivity to regulate the nutrient uptake and maintain homeostasis. However, if resources are limited, their ability to regulate the nutrient balance may be constrained, affecting their performance and ecological functions. Here, we studied how an omnivorous ant species, Dorymyrmex tener, deals with a nutritionally unbalanced diet, which in turn may affect population dynamics. We first, determined the elemental composition of D. tener under natural scenarios of resource variability. Then, to test how different fixed diets (in terms of C:N ratio) influence pre- and post-ingestive regulating mechanisms, we exposed colonies to two diets with different C:N ratios (18:1 and 15:1). We measured food consumption as a proxy of pre-ingestive mechanism, and phenotypic and behavioral plasticity as a proxy of post-ingestive mechanisms (i.e., body weight and C:N ratio, and activity level, predator behavior, and interspecific aggression, respectively). Finally, to determine the colony performance we assessed worker and juvenile’s mortality. We found that field colonies of D. tener maintained their homeostasis (measured as C:N ratio) despite seasonal variations in resource availability. Furthermore, experimental colonies fed a 15:1 C:N ratio diet showed a higher per capita food consumption and had marginally heavier workers compared to those fed the 18:1 diet. However, these dietary differences did not lead to detectable changes in behavioral traits such as activity levels, predation, or aggression, nor did they impact overall colony performance. Our findings suggest that this omnivorous ant possesses a well-developed regulatory mechanism for maintaining macronutrient balance, primarily through pre-ingestive strategies. However, its ability to compensate for nutritional imbalances may be constrained in environments with limited food diversity, potentially affecting its ecological performance and resilience. Fil: Alma, Andrea Marina. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche; Argentina. Fil: Alma, Andrea Marina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina. Fil: Lescano, María Natalia. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche; Argentina. Fil: Lescano, María Natalia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina. Fil: Pirk, Gabriela. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche; Argentina. Fil: Pirk, Gabriela. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina. Fil: Elizalde, Luciana. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche; Argentina. Fil: Elizalde, Luciana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina. 2025-08-01 2025-08-04T15:07:19Z 2025-08-04T15:07:19Z conjunto de datos other acceptedVersion 1600-0706 https://rdi.uncoma.edu.ar/handle/uncomaid/18897 eng Atribución-NoComercial-CompartirIgual 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ application/ms-excel application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet Wiley Oikos Flexible, but not enough: How an omnivorous ant copes with macronutrient imbalances
institution	Universidad Nacional del Comahue
institution_str	I-22
repository_str	R-178
collection	Repositorio Institucional UNCo
language	Inglés
topic	C:N ratio Behavioral mechanisms Diet Dorymyrmex tener Interspecific aggression Nutrient imbalance Data Ciencias de la Tierra y Medio Ambiente
spellingShingle	C:N ratio Behavioral mechanisms Diet Dorymyrmex tener Interspecific aggression Nutrient imbalance Data Ciencias de la Tierra y Medio Ambiente Alma, Andrea Marina Lescano, María Natalia Pirk, Gabriela I. Elizade, Luciana Flexible, but not enough: How an omnivorous ant copes with macronutrient imbalances
topic_facet	C:N ratio Behavioral mechanisms Diet Dorymyrmex tener Interspecific aggression Nutrient imbalance Data Ciencias de la Tierra y Medio Ambiente
description	Omnivores may have high flexibility in adjusting their ingestion rates and degree of food selectivity to regulate the nutrient uptake and maintain homeostasis. However, if resources are limited, their ability to regulate the nutrient balance may be constrained, affecting their performance and ecological functions. Here, we studied how an omnivorous ant species, Dorymyrmex tener, deals with a nutritionally unbalanced diet, which in turn may affect population dynamics. We first, determined the elemental composition of D. tener under natural scenarios of resource variability. Then, to test how different fixed diets (in terms of C:N ratio) influence pre- and post-ingestive regulating mechanisms, we exposed colonies to two diets with different C:N ratios (18:1 and 15:1). We measured food consumption as a proxy of pre-ingestive mechanism, and phenotypic and behavioral plasticity as a proxy of post-ingestive mechanisms (i.e., body weight and C:N ratio, and activity level, predator behavior, and interspecific aggression, respectively). Finally, to determine the colony performance we assessed worker and juvenile’s mortality. We found that field colonies of D. tener maintained their homeostasis (measured as C:N ratio) despite seasonal variations in resource availability. Furthermore, experimental colonies fed a 15:1 C:N ratio diet showed a higher per capita food consumption and had marginally heavier workers compared to those fed the 18:1 diet. However, these dietary differences did not lead to detectable changes in behavioral traits such as activity levels, predation, or aggression, nor did they impact overall colony performance. Our findings suggest that this omnivorous ant possesses a well-developed regulatory mechanism for maintaining macronutrient balance, primarily through pre-ingestive strategies. However, its ability to compensate for nutritional imbalances may be constrained in environments with limited food diversity, potentially affecting its ecological performance and resilience.
format	conjunto de datos other acceptedVersion
author	Alma, Andrea Marina Lescano, María Natalia Pirk, Gabriela I. Elizade, Luciana
author_facet	Alma, Andrea Marina Lescano, María Natalia Pirk, Gabriela I. Elizade, Luciana
author_sort	Alma, Andrea Marina
title	Flexible, but not enough: How an omnivorous ant copes with macronutrient imbalances
title_short	Flexible, but not enough: How an omnivorous ant copes with macronutrient imbalances
title_full	Flexible, but not enough: How an omnivorous ant copes with macronutrient imbalances
title_fullStr	Flexible, but not enough: How an omnivorous ant copes with macronutrient imbalances
title_full_unstemmed	Flexible, but not enough: How an omnivorous ant copes with macronutrient imbalances
title_sort	flexible, but not enough: how an omnivorous ant copes with macronutrient imbalances
publisher	Wiley
publishDate	2025
url	https://rdi.uncoma.edu.ar/handle/uncomaid/18897
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Flexible, but not enough: How an omnivorous ant copes with macronutrient imbalances

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